Section: VICE News (USA)
“The leaks are real but the news is fake”: Trump’s wild press conference
President Donald Trump attacked the media and dismissed any suggestions of a White House in crisis during a bizarre press conference at the White House Thursday afternoon. In the midst of the fallout from the Monday night resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn — fallout that included even greater scrutiny of Trump’s and his...
Latvia’s “non-citizen” policy leaves thousands feeling stateless
A decision taken over 25 years ago has left many in Latvia feeling rootless. When the country regained independence in 1991, the Russians who had arrived when it was still under Soviet rule were denied citizenship. This decision left 700,000 former citizens of the Soviet Union alienated by the country taking shape around them. That number is now...
Democrats and Republicans agree Trump needs “guardrails” on Russia
House Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much, but as National Security Advisor Michael Flynn puts the Trump administration’s relationship with Russia back in the spotlight, a push to limit the president’s ability to conduct diplomacy with Russia is under way in the House. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of Senators...
Russian troops are preparing for a “time of war”
Russian troops have been preparing for “a time of war” this week. At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, more than 45,000 troops have been taking part in a series of military manoeuvres to test how prepared the country’s army is for future combat. However one expert in Russian military warns that the true motivation behind the attack...
National security advisor Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russia before Trump took office
In an extraordinary breach of protocol, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn spoke to Russia’s U.S. ambassador about the lifting of sanctions before President Trump took office. This claim had been repeatedly denied by both Flynn and Vice President Mike Pence in recent days, but a report published by the Washington Post late on Thursday...
Trump and Trudeau to meet next week
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Washington, D.C. for his first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump, the political force that embodies the philosophical antithesis of the Canadian leader’s political career. Trudeau’s office put to rest weeks of speculation over when, exactly, the two figures would meet on...
France fears that Russia is trying to push Marine Le Pen to victory
France’s top intelligence agency fears that Russia is trying to sway the upcoming presidential elections in favor of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. On Wednesday, the satirical weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné reported that France’s Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) believes a disinformation campaign coordinated...
Trump faces wrath of Republican hawks after defending Putin and saying U.S. has “a lot of killers”
Republican hawks took to Twitter and the D.C. Sunday shows to attack President Donald Trump for his latest comments defending Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal regime. Pressed by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly about how Trump could respect a “killer” like Putin, Trump said, “We got a lot of killers. What, you think our country...
Huge protests erupt in Romania because the government wants to pardon corrupt officials
An estimated 250,000 people took to the streets in Romania Wednesday, in protest at an emergency decree issued by the government that could potentially free many officials jailed for corruption. These are the largest demonstrations in the country since the fall of communist rule in 1989. Why is this matter so important? Romania is a country where...
Fighting flares up in eastern Ukraine leaving at least eight Ukrainian soldiers dead
The conflict in eastern Ukraine between the government and Russia-backed rebels has escalated over the last three days, with skirmishes leading to deaths of at least 10 soldiers and civilians and over two dozen more injured. Ukrainian officials are planning to evacuate at least 8,000 people from Avdiivka, a front-line town, which lost it’s...
